You and Me, Juliet and Dodger
by Mistystream Sootfur's Loyalty
Summary: Rory has been searching for her Romeo. Jess has only ever been her Dodger. Their paths collide as Luke and Lorelai's wedding approaches. Will they get another chance? Or will her social status and his background slowly tear them apart? Lit, post series.
1. The Entrance to Hell

**A/N: Hello dear reader! This is the sequel to a oneshot I wrote, 'You and Me and Our Significant Others'. You do not have to read it to understand this, but it wouldn't be a bad idea. This is my first multi chapter Gilmore Girls story and I hope it works out.!**

**Disclaimer: I do not own Gilmore Girls.**

You and Me, Juliet and Dodger

'If the wedding isn't for another week, why are you leaving today?"

I turn around and fix Matthew with a hard stare. I must have answered this same question at least six hundred times to him.

"You should seriously get your head checked- like I'm about to call the doctor." I say irritably. Matthew just shakes his head and gives me the finger. What a charming young man. "I'm the freaking best man. My uncle needs me to help him out at the diner 'because he is so busy with the preparations."

"Whatever Jess," Matthew caves, just like I knew he would. "But you had better get some work down on that manuscript- or we'll all be screwed."

"I know, I know- the deadline is coming up." I admit grudgingly. He's referring to the book I'm in the process of drafting- the book that is supposed to be ready for publishing by Christmas. Hell, it's barely a week past Halloween but tensions are high in our place when it comes to deadlines- one slip and we'll be broke again.

"Maybe the wedding we'll be good for you." Matthew ponders. "Getting away for a while could help cure your writer's block." He suggests.

"Maybe," I agree tonelessly, bending down to tie up the laces to my coveted, beat up converse. "I'll be back in a bit." I say, and giving him a half smile, I hoist my duffel over my shoulder and exit the room.

"You're bringing Marley, right?" Matthew yells back at me from the room. "Because that girl will flip if you don't take her with you- and no one wants to see that girl flip."

"Yes I'm bringing her- goodbye!" I say in exhaustion, picking up my car keys and whistling as I head for the door. At once, a large, tan shape emerges from the kitchen and follows me out. I head over to the car and open the door.

"Go on Marley." I coo, and the dog leaps into the passenger's seat.

I guess I should probably explain about Marley- she's not my girlfriend if that's what you were thinking. She's the stray dog that followed me home from the bookstore one night. Me and the boys took her in and she has been part of our group ever since. She seems to like me the most- I don't know if its because I'm the one who found her or because Matthew just freaks her out. But in any case, if I leave her alone at the house, she gets very angry and bites whoever happens to cross her path (usually its Matthew.)

I fumble in the back seat for a decent CD to listen to and select one of my favorite Metallica albums. Soon, the music is blasting from my stereo and I'm flying on my way to the Entrance to Hell- or as its more commonly known as- Stars Hollow.

I'm not showing up a week early for my Uncle's wedding because he needs help with preparations- he knows enough not to ask me for something like that. The real reason I'm going is a lot more personal and a lot more pathetic.

I'm going to try and win back Rory Gilmore.

Yes, that means that I am still yet to get over her. And yes, I still do love her. And now that she has ditched Mr. Blondie, more commonly known as Logan, the only thing standing in my way is…. Well, basically everything.

Our past history does nothing to help me in my plight. I broke her heart, then she broke mine, then she strung me along- it was a long, angst ridden story that I would really rather avoid reliving.

The town of Stars Hollow was not in my favor either. Every single resident there had a reason to hate me, and if they didn't, they made one up. All I had to do was set one foot on their turf for the townies to start whispering and for the members of my old high school class to start clenching their knuckles.

But the number one thing that was standing in my way was the fact that she was absolutely, on hundred percent out of my league.

Rory's grandparents were part of the rich upper-class, whist I was in Philly playing starving artist. She was a Yale graduate with a bright future. I was a high school drop out who took some night school classes and attended community college.

She was way out of my league.

But I was not giving up without a fight.

The Metallica CD had long since ended, and so had the Clash CD I'd replaced it with. I'd also stopped at Burger King for lunch and was well on my way to Stars Hollow. I was also getting more and more motivated to turn around and head somewhere totally off the beaten path- even further off than Stars Hollow that is.

Forest after forest, exit after exit, I grew steadily closer to Stars Hollow. When I saw the turn for Hartford I felt myself get extremely panicky and wanted to stick my head out the window like Marley.

The Our Lady Peace CD I was listening clicked off and I was trying to find something to listen to for the rest of the journey. I could go for something loud and obnoxious, like some early Bon Jovi, or something classic and catchy, like the Rolling Stones. I ended out pumping in an old Tom Petty disc and trying not to think about Rory for the remainder of the ride.

Half way into the CD, I come out of my thoughts and realize that I have entered the town straight out of a Stephen King novel, Oh dear…

When I pull over next to Luke's I'm thankful for my new car. The old shit I had would be instantly recognized as mine and within minutes the whole down would know of my arrival. Thanks to the new wheels, I would be able to keep my identity anonymous, if only for a little while.

I stay in the car and close my eyes, trying to regroup and find my bearings.

Rory had no reason to hate me.

_Rory's probably dreading your arrival._

Things could be different this time.

_Fat chance- you'll screw things up again._

I was no longer an idiotic eighteen year old.

_You still ain't that bright at twenty three._

I could do this.

_You so can't do this._

I'm pathetic.

_You're pathetic._

Shaking away my thoughts, I turn off the car and listen as Tom Petty's voice is choked out. Taking a last, deep breath, I reach into the back seat for my duffel and open the door. Marley follows me silently.

When I open the door, the bell dings, and that ding seems to be like me screaming at the top of my lungs 'Look who's back!". The diner grows silent for a moment. Patty and Babette just raise their eyebrows at me and glance at each other, while Taylor looks thoroughly dispirited. Luke looks confused for a moment before he sets down the coffee pot he's holding and goes to greet me.

"Good to see you Jess." He says, shaking my hand and staring incredulously at Marley. "Who's your friend?"

"A dog," I say simply.

"The four legs and the tail kind of gave that away." Luke replies dryly. "When did you get a dog?"

I shrug. "A while ago," I state matter-of-factly.

"Why'd you bring it here?" he asks, a disgruntled expression on his face.

"She tends to bite people when I'm not around." I say with a small grin.

"Oh, great," Luke says sighing dramatically. "Go put your stuff upstairs. Then I could use your help down here."

"Sure thing, _Uncle _Luke," I say, putting emphasis on the 'uncle' cause I know it will annoy him.

A vein pulses in his forehead but he says nothing and I disappear behind the curtain with a smirk on my face.

The apartment is empty now that Luke has moved back in with Lorelai. I dump my stuff on my old bed and then troop back down the stairs, Marley following at my heels.

I'll never forget the ropes to working in the diner, not like its that difficult. Twenty minutes after my arrival I'm taking orders and making coffee like the good old days, while Marley watches me from where she is curled up in the corner.

I'm beginning to get over being back in town when the bell rings again and none other than Lorelai herself walks in. I feel myself panic and hastily try and disappear into the kitchen, but Luke cuts me off.

'Hey Lorelai." He greets. "I'll have Jess get you coffee."

That stupid, stupid man! One day I'm going to hit him over the head with his own spatula.

"Oh Jess, you're back." She says simply, and I can see the surprise on her face and sense the old prickle of dislike she always harbors for me.

"Yup," I say tersely, going back to my classic one word answers.

"You still aren't speaking in full sentences." She observes.

"I let one slip every once and a while." I state stiffly.

"Tell Lorelai about your dog." Luke yells to me from the kitchen.

"You got a dog?" Lorelai questions me.

"Yeah, she's over there." I reply, pointing to the corner where my mutt is resting.

"Awh, she's cute!' Lorelai says with a small laugh. "What's her name?"

"Marley."

"As in the word the rhymes with gnarly?" she says in confusion.

"As in Bob," I explain.

"Oh, of course." She says in understanding. "You live with a bunch of artists, now. I guess you probably have a cat named Dylan."

I don't know what to say to that.

"You know… like Bob Dylan." She continues slowly.

"Huh, I'll have to consider it should we ever get a cat." I say nervously.

"I guess you're not really a cat person." She goes on, a large, fake smile plastered on her lips. She lets out another faint chuckle. Then I turn and get her some coffee.

"Thanks." She says gratefully, taking a sip. I'm not sure whether or not I should stay, or walk away, Being with your ex-girlfriend's mother is always difficult, especially when you happened to break that girl's heart, and even more when you are still in love with said daughter.

"Listen, Jess," Lorelai begins, sensing my discomfort. "You and I have quite the history together."

"I suppose we do." I reply dumbly.

"And not all of it is good." She goes on.

"Yeah…" I reply quietly.

'But,' she continues with a smile. "Rory told me that you are the one who motivated her to move out of her grandparents' and go back to Yale."

"So that… scores me brownie points?" I ask slowly.

"That's scores you more than brownie points my friend." She says with another grin. 'It scores you a badge- a big, pretty, shiny badge with glitter and sequins and fancy letters."

"Okay…" I say, never fully being able to comprehend what goes on inside the head of a Gilmore. "So you don't hate my guts anymore?" I blurt, unsure if I'm pushing my luck in asking.

Lorelai shifts in her seat. "Lets see how this wedding turns out and then I'll answer that."

I nod in understanding. "Okay."

"Jess, orders up!" I hear Luke call from the kitchen. I give Lorelai a final nod before disappearing into the kitchen, my head in overdrive.

My return to Stars Hollow was very uncomfortable.

And I had a feeling weird reunions were far from over.

0

Its later, and I'm trying to get some work done on my manuscript. Marley is curled up at my feet and a beer is in my hand. One of my Metallica CD's is playing from the stereo- I always listen to music when I write- it sort of inspires me.

But nothing has been able to inspire me for a long time. This stupid novel has been half finished for months because I hate what I write and get rid of it. I really need to figure out what I want to do soon- that deadline is getting closer and closer.

I pause in my contemplating to glance at the clock. 9:27 gleams back at me in red numbers. I yawn and ponder leaving the manuscript for tomorrow night, which is what I have been saying to myself for the last several months.

Deciding that a walk around the square may inspire me, I abandon the manuscript on the desk and head for the stairs. Marley could use a walk. She trails down after me and I nod to Luke, who's serving the last stray costumers of the night.

"I'll help you close up when I come back." I inform him. He nods in understanding and I open the door, hearing that annoying bell ring again.

When I lived here, I always thought about stealing that bell. Sure, it alerts Luke when costumers come in, but after hours its just plain annoying. In the early hours of the morning, when I'm dead asleep, it wakes me up. In the late hours of the night, long after Luke has locked up, I hear it- my imagination has always had a strong hold on me. I used to have dreams of people chasing after me with bells, and of all my CD's playing the sounds of bells ringing. Even after all the years, it can still annoy the heck out of me; when Matthew in the boys suggested putting a bell on our door, I refused so passionately that several of them looked terrified and thought I had a strange phobia against bells. Perhaps I do….

So now I'm just strolling down the street, letting my feet carry me to my old haunts that I used to journey to as a teenager. I reach the bridge- my bridge- and sit down. My feet are just hanging above the water- if I was any bit taller, they'd be soaked. So if Dean was trying to sit here, he'd probably be submerged up to his knees. I smirk at the thought.

Dean and I haven't seen each other since the night I asked Rory to run away with me, also known as the night Rory Gilmore broke my heart. And its also known as the night Rory Gilmore got her revenge.

Marley gives a low bark. She's staring incredulously at the water, and I know that in the daylight she would probably swim. I whistle for her and set off back for the diner, deciding in my head to force myself to write a decent chapter before I go to bed.

I'm nearly back home, and passing the gazebo, when I run into Taylor. He looks at me and crosses himself. It looks like I've become an omen of the devil to this town.

"Young man," he addresses me, and I know that I'm in for one of his rants. "There is a leash law here in Stars Hollow that states that no animal may be allowed in the streets without a leash." He gives my dog a dirty look.

"Huh." I say, because I know my careless, one word, mono-tone answer will irk him.

It does.

"I also notice that your animal is not wearing the proper identification. The Stars Hollow Pet Control and Regulation Committee requires all dogs and cats to were identification tags stating that they have been given the proper shots. I see no form of identification on your animal." He goes on.

"Well isn't that a pity." I say sarcastically.

He looks angry now. "Lack of the proper identification _and _a leash can amount to a pretty serious fine, young man."

"You're going to fine me?" I say in disbelief. Taylor isn't getting a buck out of me.

Marley must not like Taylor either for she begins to growl menacingly at him.

"Please restrain you animal." He pleads.

"Oh, I can't do that now." I say. "She only stops growling after she's given chase."

'Given chase?" Taylor repeats in confusion, before I yell "Go on!". Then Marley bares her teeth and takes on towards him. He yells and sprints for his store, grabbing a broom and raising it threateningly. I whistle for her and she growls and him one last time before following me.

"You keep that beast away!" I hear Taylor yell, and I merely smirk back at him before entering the diner.

"Where've you've been?" Luke asks, cleaning out the coffee pot. I trudge behind the counter for a rag and begin wiping down tables.

"Terrorizing Taylor," I say smugly.

"One of us has to do it." Luke says in appreciation. "And since I'm busy with the wedding, I'll hand to torch down to you."

"I'm honored." I say sarcastically, moving on to another table. We continue the usual routine in silence, and it seems more and more like I'm seventeen again and still living upstairs. I clear my throat ominously. "So… what's on the agenda for tomorrow?" I say casually.

"Tomorrow," Luke repeats. "Lorelai has this big event going on at the Inn- some sort of inspection or something. Rory's coming in at about noon-"(my insides churn slightly at this), "And then we're going to dinner at the Gilmore's."

"Good luck with that." I say with a smirk, imagining Luke having to suffer through a dinner with Richard and Emily. "I'm sure you'll have a _delightful_ time."

"You can be the judge of that." Luke says, and to my horror I see a grin on his face. Luke only grins like that when he torments me. "You're coming."

"NO!" I shout loudly. "There is no possible way in the universe that I'm coming to that dinner- No I mean it!" I continue louder still, for Luke is laughing from behind the counter. "Those people will KILL me! Stab me with a steak knife, or poison my drink- I will not get out alive!"

"I've never seen you fear for your life before. It's extremely entertaining." Luke says with another laugh.

I glare at him with such intensity that the smile vanishes quickly from his face.

"Jess," he begins, and I feel a lecture coming on. "The Gilmore's haven't seen you in years. I'm sure they have forgotten-"

"They haven't forgotten anything!" I snap. "The second we walk in there I'm going to be a sitting duck!"

"Better than a swan, we all know how that turned out." Luke retorts.

"You're not funny." I hiss at him, finishing the table I'm on and hurling the rag at him. Then I storm up the stairs and immediately wish I didn't, because its only ten thirty and I've got nothing to do.

I flip half heartedly through one of my books, but I can't get into it. The TV gets turned on but after twenty minutes of channel surfing I shut it off again. Recognizing defeat, I decide to call it a night and try to get some sleep- and try not to think about the sure to be disastrous dinner tomorrow night.

**I have another seven or eight pages typed, but I thought it was getting way too long. I'll post those next few pages as a second chapter soon. Please review because I would love to hear any feedback you may have. Rory comes in the next chapter, so stick with me until then!**


	2. Collide

**A/N: Thank you, thank you, to the tweleve people who reviewed at all who added me to alerts, favorites, and C2S. The response has been unbelievable and extremely rewarding. I updated extra fast- don't get used to it. I'll start working on chapter three once I post this.**

**Rory makes her entrance in this chapter. And the POV jumps for a little. But hey- it gets back to Jess quickly ( cause he's just awesome)**

**Disclaimer. If I owned GG, Jess would totally still be there.**

I flop down on my bed and stare at the ceiling for fifteen minutes. Then and fumble in my bag for a Clash CD and turn it on, hoping that my old technique will help me to sleep.

It doesn't.

The CD is nearly over and I'm still staring, wide awake, at the ceiling. I move suddenly and seize my bag, tearing through the compartments for five minutes before concluding that I must have forgotten my sleeping pills.

I've had trouble sleeping since I was about thirteen. It's a little hard to sleep listening to your mom and her drunken boyfriend go at it every night. It's even harder to sleep listening to them argue, because then there's the chance that he'll get really pissed and try to hit her, which means I'll have to go in there and hold him off.

The music usually helped. If I played it loud enough I could forget about what was going on through the paper thin walls of our slummy apartment and get lost in the lyrics of my favorite bands. Eventually I came to the point where I couldn't sleep without the music.

But after I left Stars Hollow, it became harder and harder for me to get to sleep, and the music didn't seem to be helping as much. For a couple years I suffered in a sleepless haze. After I moved in with Matthew and the others at the publishing house, they recommended I get sleeping pills.

I wasn't for it at first. I hate to idea of medically induced sleep about as much as I hate going to see a doctor. But soon the guys got sick of me looking exhausted and forced me to go. I don't need to take the pills every night, which is probably why I forgot them in the first place.

Turning over in my bed, I realize that the CD has stopped and I reach into my bag and pull out another one. The hours go by and CD after CD I still can't seem to get to sleep. I wonder for a moment when Luke will come in until I remember that he's at Lorelai's house. It must be pretty late.

Another glance at the clock tells me that it is really late- 3:17AM to be precise. I groan out loud and turn the lights on- reaching for a book. Looks like I'll have to read myself to sleep.

I blearily open my eyes the next morning to see my stupid dog nudging me with her nose. I shove her off. What was it- ten minutes- since I fell asleep? It felt like two. I glance at the clock and see that it is eight thirty. I promised Luke that I would help him in the dinner this morning, so after a few minutes of getting motivated I drag myself out of bed.

Twenty minutes later, I am showered and dressed. I spent less gel my hair than usual, so it sticking up at awkward angles but I let it go. I take a quick glance in the mirror and conclude that I look like I've been run over. Oh well. If anybody tells me I look bad I'll just tell them to fuck off.

I take the stairs with my eyes closed, not caring that I could trip at any second. I popped a couple Aspirin upstairs but they didn't seem to be doing anything. Sighing, and preparing myself for a torturously long day, I pull back the curtain and enter the diner.

The heads of the morning crowd turn at once to stare at me. Another time this might have made me feel uncomfortable, but in my sleep deprived state the only thing I'm feeling is the odd twitch in my left wrist.

"Jess I was wondering when you were going to-"Luke paused mid-sentence, taking in my appearance. "What the hell happened to you?" he asked in confusion.

I shrugged it off like I usually do. "Nothing," I say tonelessly, stooping behind the counter and picking up and order pad. "Didn't sleep too well."

"So Jess, you're back." I turn to see who's speaking, and determine that its Miss Patty. Joy.

"It would appear so." I say dryly, taking the coffee pot off the maker and refilling her coffee.

"Oh, you're too kind." She says over sweetly, and now I begin to feel uncomfortable. "So, what did it take you to finally grow up?"

I shrugged this off as well. "I'll let you know when I find out."

The morning goes on like it usually does. Soon Lorelai comes in and I busy myself refilling coffee as to not have to listen to her and Luke flirt in the corner. I'm busy making another cup of coffee when I hear the bell on the door. The room gets oddly quiet again and I turn to see who's entered.

I then I see and it feels like a bucket of cold water being doused on my head.

"Rory! You're early!" Lorelai cries, running over to hug her daughter. I let go of the coffee pot and debate fleeing upstairs, until I remember that my running instincts were not supposed to be used. Besides, the glances Miss Patty and the others are directing between Rory and I prevent any chance of quick get away.

Lorelai begins leading Rory over to the counter and then our eyes meet.

And I find myself once again infatuated with her.

For several seconds neither of us speak, and her mouth forms a perfect 'O' in astonishment.

"J-Jess." She stutters out sloppily.

"Rory," I say weakly, coming out from behind the counter to move closer to her. The entire diner is silent, all eyes on the pair of us.

'I didn't know you were going to be here." She states. "But I'm glad you are." She says quickly, not wanting me to begin assuming things.

I give her a smile that's half a smirk.

"Don't smirk at me." She says, and the slight blush that finds its way to her face makes me all the more nervous and uncomfortable. God, what I would give for a cigarette. "Its so good to see you!" she squeals, and then she comes over to me and the temperature gets all the more tense when she spreads her arms out as if to hug me. She drops them almost at once and she awkwardly holds out a hand.

We timidly shake hands, my eyes never leaving hers. Just that once simple touch reminds me of all those quiet times we spent alone in Luke's apartment when we were seventeen and the urge to kiss her comes over me. I have a feeling she was thinking along the lines of the same thing, because neither of us break the connection. I can hear Patty whispering in the corner and it pulls me out of my reverie.

We drop hands slowly and still stare at each other in silence, while I wonder if it's the lack of sleep that's making me unable to think straight or just her presence.

"I missed you.' I find the words coming out of my mouth, even though I don't recall why or how.

She smiles nervously again. "I missed you too."

The tension in the room only gets thicker, but Rory and I can't seem to step away from each other and I can't break away from her gaze.

Luke clears his throat from behind the counter. "Coffee Rory?" he asks.

"Oh what- Yes!" Rory turns to Luke, another blush creeping onto her face. She nods at me and gives me another small smile before sitting on a stool next to her mother. All eyes return to me and I can't help myself- the running instincts are in full swing.

"I'm gonna go- get my- book." I call to Luke, stringing random words together, not caring if they make sense. I dart back through the curtain and up the stairs, where I lean heavily on the wall and close my eyes.

Could this day get any longer?

…..

Meanwhile, down in the diner….

Rory seemed to hear, and at a very far distance, Luke offering her coffee. With a huge effort, she dragged her eyes away from Jess, her cheeks flushing.

"Oh what- Yes!" she stammered, irritatingly aware that everyone in the diner was staring at her and Jess. Couldn't this stupid town ever leave her alone? She spun around and smiled fondly at Jess before her mother placed a hand on her shoulder and she sat down next to her at the counter.

Many people then turned to stare at Jess. She could see the fear in his eyes and was unsurprised when she heard him shakily shout something about a book to Luke and disappear up the stairs. A crashing sound soon indicating that he tripped on the way up.

"Here you go," Luke said, handing her a cup of coffee. His eyes flickered to the spot where Rory had unconsciously been staring- the curtain behind which Jess had vanished only moments before. He made no comment about Jess, just exchanged a glance with Lorelai.

Rory took a sip of her coffee, her mind still focused on Jess. She was caught by surprise when she felt something wet on her knee, and turned to see a large, tan and white dog sniffing her good naturedly.

"Luke- there's a dog!" she said.

Luke glanced at her before replying. "Oh yeah, I forgot about that. Its Jess's." His eyebrows creased. "Named it after some dead musician- I forget."

"Bob Marley." Rory said at once. She reddened again. ' He told me one of his roommates had a thing for Bob Marley."

"When did he tell you that?" Lorelai asked curiously.

Rory fidgeted unnecessarily with her coffee cup and did not meet her mother's eyes. "At the open house," she replied finally.

Lorelai looked surprised. "I didn't know you talked so much."

"We didn't- talk much." Rory was stammering again.

'Talking about his roommate's music interests sounds like 'much' to me." Lorelai said with a small laugh.

Rory gave her mother a tiny grin before taking another sip of her coffee. There was another crash from upstairs. She glanced up at the ceiling, and, feeling much boulder than usual, took a final sip of her coffee before standing up, brushing quickly past her mother, and disappearing behind the curtain like Jess had moments before.

The diner grew quiet for a moment again.

"What do we make of this?" Patty said mischievously.

(Jess's POV)

I'm leaning agaisnt the wall and wondering if its possible to fall asleep standing up. My right knee is throbbing and I can't remember why- I must have tripped at some time and forgetten. Letting out a shakey breath, I reenter the apartment and replay the scene with Rory in my head. I'm so distracted that I walk right into the nightstand and send it crashing to the ground.

Cursing, I bend down and straighten the nightstand, picking up the objects that had rested on it. Thankfully the lamp hadn't broken. I busy myself with putting it back up when I hear the door open and turn to Rory Gilmore standing in my doorway,

Then I drop the lamp agian.

"Having trouble there?" she says with a smile. I grin slowly, trying to remember that I'm feet away from the couch that we so often made out on in our younger years.

"Let me help you with that." she offers, gesturing towards the fallen lamp, which finally broke.

"Oh yeah- I hope Luke wasn't too fond of this lamp." She shakes her head and me and together we clean up the glass.

"We should probably head back down." She gestures at the door. "Everyone's probably wondering what we're going."

"If we really want to give them something to talk about we could start giggling really loudly."

"I've neveer heard you say 'giggling' before." she laughs, leading towards the door.

I follow her.

(Back downstairs)

"I can hardly believe it! Rory going upstairs with Jess! After everything he did to her." Babette exclaimed.

Everyone jumped and looked towards the ceiling again when there was yet another crash for above. Luke looked suddenly angry. He moved towards the curtain but Lorelai stopped him.

"Leave it." She said simply, taking another sip of her coffee.

"What?" Luke gaped at her. "You want me to leave them alone together doing god knows what?"

"They're adults. Luke." She reminded him. "They can make their own decisions."

Luke looked at her for several seconds before nodding and returning to the kitchen. Lorelai took up her coffee cup again, and the rest of the town present in the diner went back to their conversations.

After about five minutes, a door was heard closing upstairs. Rory and Jess's voice carried down the stairs.

"I'm sure you just can't wait for dinner tonight." They heard Rory laugh sarcastically.

"Don't remind me." Jess's irritated voice replied. "Here's the plan: twenty minutes in, you start coughing and then I'll offer to drive you home and then we can escape into the get away car.

'Promise not the crash this time?" Rory then appeared out of the curtain, a smile on her face as she looked at Jess behind her.

"Promise," Jess said with a smirk. "If any animals come out in the road, I'll just go faster. "

"Hey." Rory said playfully.

"What about a small child? Should I stop for a small child?" Jess teased.

Rory whacked him gently on the arm. For another couple seconds they just smiled uncomfortably at each other. Then Rory broke the silence.

"You doing anything this afternoon? Around 3?" she asked.

Jess blinked, clearly confused. "No." he answered.

"I'm planning on hitting the bookstore. Want to come?" she offered.

"Sure." Jess said easily, still looked a little uncertain.

"I'll call you." Rory said with a sloppy grin. "Wait- what's your number?"

Jess pulled out his phone and Rory extracted her own from her purse and they exchanged phone numbers. Then Lorelai and Rory left the diner together, Rory turning around at the last minute to say goodbye to him.

(Jess's POV)

"Bye." I said in farewell, watching her until she closed the door and then shaking my head and heading back behind the counter. I walked over to pick up an order pad and was about to ask the table in the corner for their orders when I noticed several pairs of eyes on me, especially those of my uncle.

'Can I help you with something?' I asked him casually. Luke continued to stare threateningly at me.

'What were you doing up there Jess?" he asked, inticated with his hand to the upstairs apartment.

"You mean in the five minutes I was gone?" I scoffed. "I was getting a book- what do you think I was doing?'

"You know what I think you were doing." Luke said cooly.

I smirked. "Oh yeah- I left out the part about the hot sex with Rory." Several people in the diner snickered, while Patty and Babette just looked devious.

"Do not kid with me!" Luke said thunderously.

"Relax Uncle Luke," I said with a laugh, turning to seize the coffee pot. 'You're face will freeze like that."

Luke crossed his arms and continued to glare at me. "I still don't think its a good idea for you to be planning dates with her ten minutes after she gets to town."

"Planning dates?" I repeat with a snort, setting the coffee pot back down and staring at my uncle in disbelief. "Planning dates? I'm going to the bookstore with her!"

"I know, which is what worries me." Luke says cooly.

I laugh coldly. "Oh yeah- I'm going to take her to the bookstore and get Andrew to marry us. Then we're going to run away together to a remote European country."

"You run away before this wedding and you'll be dead." my Uncle roars.

"Okay." I say with a huge grin, passing the coffee pot to Luke. "We'll just wait 'till its over then." Still grinning, I pat him on the back and head up to the apartment, fully aware of every eye in the diner watching me go.

0

"So, when's the new book coming out?" Rory asks me as me search through the book shelves.

I let out a breath. "Well, the deadline is around Christmas- but I doubt I'll make it if things keep going the way they are- writer's block." I explain at the incredulous look on her face.

"Ahh." she says knowingly. "I hate it when that happens. I once had a complete block on this article I needed done for the Yale Daily News- I just couldn't get it done."

"How'd you get over it?"

"Paris threatening to burn all of my books was slightly motivating." she says with a smirk.

"That would do it." I nod. "I don't Matthew would burn my books if I didn't finish- maybe gouge my eyes out though."

"Well you'd better get over that writer's block then." Rory turns to fully smile at me now. "I like your eyes."

Its another one of those moments like we've had in the diner. Our eyes just meet and slowly our faces begin to move closer together, until I could nearly feel her breath on my cheeks. She moves closer still and one of her hand moves to lightly touch my face. My heart is beating unbearabley loud- I'm surprised Rory can't hear it. Our eyes never leave each others' and her head tilts slightly to the side-

"Rory- did you see the new Biography section? There's a lot on sale."

At Andrew's voice we break apart and Rory blushes furiously again. She studders something to Andrew and scampers into another eisle. I lean my head back on one of the shelves and just focus on breathing and steading my drumming heart. God- If things keep going like this I'm definitely going to be smoking again.

A glance at my watch shows that it is now quarter to six. We'll be leaving for the Gilmore's soon. My head is killing me and I feel like I could sleep for a year. Or maybe two. Two years sounded pretty good.

"Hey."

Rory was back, a few paperbacks in her hands and a nervous look on her flushed face.

"Listen- about before-" she begins, looking very uncomfortable.

"Forget it." I say at once, raising a hand to stop her. "You and me, we just... sorta collide like that." I struggle to find words that don't make me sound like a complete idiot.

"Yeah, I guess we do.. collide." she agrees, not meeting my eyes.

We stand in silence once more.

'We should probably get going." She says after a few moments. "Dinner at my grandparents."

"Wouldn't want to miss that." I say stiffly. She smiles and turns to the register.

I run a hand through my hair.

Rory Gilmore had only been back in my life for a few hours and she was already making my world spin again. I was practically flying

But I was sure that dinner with her grandparents was going to send me crashing back to the ground with a startling crash.


	3. Of Games and Distractions

**Thanks to everyone who reviewed - I truely do appreciate all the feedback. This chapter was difficult- this is the third rewrite I've gone with. First, Jess got mad and left the dinner early. (as he did last time). Then, I made it that he turned the numerous insults Emily threw at him into jokes. But I didn't thinl that fit at all. So this is the middle ground. You'll have to read to see what I've finally decided with!**

**Disclaimer: I do not own Gilmore Girls.**

**Rating Warning: Theres a lot more cursing in this chapter thatn usual- but hey, need I remind you this is Jess we are talking about.**

Chapter Three: Of Games and Distractions

Luke was a total bastard.

Already anticipating a scheme of mine to ditch out on dinner early, he had forbidden me from taking my own car. So now I was sitting in the passenger's seat of his truck- or more like seated against my will, whilst pondering various ways of causing Luke pain. I was just considering dousing him in gasoline and lighting him on fire when we pulled up to the achingly farmilar Gilmore house

And all thoughts of Luke are dragged out of my mind.

This house hasn't changed since the last time I was here.

_Flashback_

_I pull up the driveway, thinking that its a serious acomplishment that my car has made it this far without stalling- sometimes it could hardly make it around the block. _

_And then I wonder if Rory had given me the wrong address._

_This house is huge- bigger than my old school in New York. A handsome fountain gushes importantly in front, and the large oak doors are staring at me almost threateningly, as if they know I don't belong here. Because it has just become so very clear how very far out of Rory's league I am. These people would be expecting some kind young stud- a future doctor- to be dating their grand-daughter. Not a sulky, bad boy, former New Yorker who was barely passing his senior year and not attending college._

_Suddenly, my car looked ten times more threadbare, and my clothes looked ten times more worn out. I felt like complete dirt- dirt on the bottom of these people's fancy Italian shoes. It seemed unbearabley not fair that while I was lying in my mother's apartment, shivering like mad because she couldn''t afford heat, these people were sitting here in their manshion full of money. _

_I did not belong here._

_End Flashback_

I did not belong here.

We were standing out of the car and I was just starring at the house, my head still aching and my heart pounding scarily fast. My discomfort must have showed on my face, because Lorelai looked at me sympathetically.

"You okay?" she asked softly.

I could not answer. My throat was still clenched dry and shut. I couldn't have spoken if I wanted to. My mouth opened and something between a cough and a moan escaped my cracking lips.

"Listen," Lorelai says with a sigh. "This is not going to be easy- and its certainly not going to be fun."

Yeah, cause I thought it was going to be like Chuckie Fucking Cheese.

"But, you've just got to grit your teeth and know that whatever happens, you will not die." She smiles and then looks curious for a moment. "Hopefully." She grins awkwardly at me and I feel anything but reasured. She gives my shoulder a small squeeze. "Just hang in there, okay?"

Hoping that the ability to speak comes back to me soon, I nod at her and follow Rory and Luke onto the doorway. Lorelai turns to me one last time before ringing the door bell.

Damn, I hate bells.

O

We're sitting on the couch in the living room with our drinks. Emily and Rory are exchaning small talk, Richard and Luke are having a quiet converstation, and Lorelai is shooting me furtive glances from behind her Martini. Me? I wondering if the tongs in the ice box will be sharp enough to go all the way through my heart.

I stare with complete focus at the bottom of my scotch. I'm not a fan of drinking anything other than beer, but I have a feeling beer is much too below the Gilmores and their five thousand year old fancy French wine. Holy Shit- I really, really could kill for a cigarette.

I'm keeping track of the night with an ever constant score. To see which of us, me or Emily, can irritate the other inconpsicuously. I'm not sure how inconspicuous Emiyl Gilmore can be, but living the way I did has made me rather sly.

"So Jess, what is it that you do?"

Emily Gilmore must have finished catching up with her grand-daughter, and now she has moved on to me.

I spend as much time as possible clearing my throat. "I write.' I say, using all of my effort to keep the sarcasm from my voice and sound mildly interested in the conversation. Luke is looking tensely at me and Rory and Lorelai are glancing fearfully at each other. Emily and Richard are giving me their full and undivided attention.

"What things do you write?" Emily says, and she speaks slowly, sounding out every syllabel, as if she's speaking to a retarded chimpanzee.

The urge to spit back something at her overwhelms me but a glance at my uncle keeps me back. "Books- I write books." I say simply, speaking quickly.

"You're books must be quite good if you can support a living off them." Emily says, still talking loudly and clearly as if I can't understand her.

"Do you get enough from yours books to pay the bills?" Richard Gilmore speaks to me for the first time, thought thankfully he is talking to me like an intelligent human being and not some bum from the homeless shelter.

"I also work at a publishing house." I say flatly, hoping for the subject to change, fast.

"Fullfilling work?" Emily asks loudly.

I raise my head higher. "Pays the bills." I say, meeting her gaze for the first time. We stare at each other, hatred etched in both our faces for several seconds until Lorelai breaks the silence.

"Did I tell you about the dream I had?" she says sharply. "About Giligan's Island?"

"No, no you didn't." Rory says, eager for the conversation to drift far, far, away from me.

"Whatever does Giligan's Island have to do with our previous conversation, Lorelai?" Emily asks in exasperation, her voice back to a normal tone and pace. I tighten the grip on my glass and stare at my drink, wondering if I could drown in it.

"Giligan has everything to do with everything." Lorelai explains, as if her mother should have known this. I take a large sip of my drink and close my eyes.

After the first round, the current standing looked like this- Emily:1. Jess: zilch. But I wasn't worried. There was all night for me to make a come back.

"... And then Giligan and Kirk stopped wrestling and Michel stopped throwing coconuts at the Skipper and I woke up." Lorelai finishes the stunning reacount of her dream, in which nearly every citizen of Stars Hollow made an appearance, and smiled enthusiastically at her parents.

"Dinner is served, Mrs. Gilmore." a scared looking maid announces. I still can't get over the fact that these people have enough money for a maid. God- these people are all the same. They donate to a dozen different charities and expect to be considered saints, even though they still have enough money to buy several beach houses in the Tropics.

I let out a breath and am the last to enter the dining room. I take the only empty seat, which is across from Luke and next to Richard and Lorelai.

"You look pale Jess." Emily remarks as I'm about to take a bite of the disturbing looking salad. Her voice is still slow, loud, and obnoxious."Are you feeling alright?"

"He has a headache." Rory answers for me, her voice ever so slightly irritated.

"I see." Emily interprets what Rory has said and I wait for her to turn it around into something negative. "First a black eye, now a headache. You must not take very good care of yourself."

_I live on the edge, you miserable old witch. _'I'm just tired." I say slowly, unable to keep myself from matching her tone.

"Well eat as much as you want." Emily says in the same way, a fake smile plastered on her face. "I'm sure a decent meal must be hard to come by for you."

Emily: 2. Jess: 0. So the second round had gone to Emily. It was time for me to look for a big break, an opprutunity to beat Emily at her own game.

_Why don't I just jab this fork down your lousy throat?_ I force myself into a painful smile and stare at her while I take a large bite. The temperature in the room seems to have dropped twenty degrees.

We make it through the main course without any mention of me. Emily holds conversation with everyone else on the table, only pausing occasionly to stare at me. Whenever she did this I would give her a large, one hundred percent fake smile. Luke looked uncomforatble and kept adjusting his tie. Rory and Lorelai exchanged many glances, and seemed to be eating at top speed. I was thankful; the sooner we were out of here the better.

The dessert plates were just being carried away, Rory was gulping down coffee, and I was counting down the minutes until we could leave, when the conversation came back to me.

"So tell me Jess," Emily Gilmore speaks to me again. "Is it true you dropped out of highschool?"

Luke shifts in his chair. Lorelai pales. Rory looks mortified.

"I went to nightschool." I answer her at length.

"Highschool can be intimidating for those with," her nostrils flare. "less gifted minds."

_Do you know that from experience:? Or is it just an observation? _I concentrate on staring at my empty place setting and don't merit her with a response.

She notices my lack of reaction and to my anger, continues. "I mean, for some people, the pressure can just be, too much. But it doesn't mean you should consider yourself a loser. I'm sure there'll be something out there for you to succede at."

God, can this woman talk in a normal voice?

"Some people are cut for the Ivy Leagues," she says, with a nod at Rory. "And others are content with being starving artists for their whole lives."

My hands grip the table and my head swims. I continue to stare at the table and I'm biting the sides of my mouth so hard I'll probably have blisters tomorrow.

"Buts its completley understandable," she goes on, as if I was doubting myself hear and now. "As long as you can look at yourself in the mirror without flinching, I guess you're alright." her tone gets louder still. "Do you flinch when you look in the mirror?"

The urge to leave, to run out, to yell something sarcastic and angst-filled retort at her is so strong, I had to curl the edge of my shoe around the leg of my chair to keep myself from springing out of my seat. My hands fall to grip the sides of the table once more and I try my hardest not to meet the eyes of anyone at the table.

And then I'm reminded of the old bullies in New York. The ones who would hold a gun to your head and demand you give them all the money you had on you. The people who tried to scare me. There was one thing I knew about people like this- you had to scare them back. In New York, it meant pulling out a pocket knife.

But, here, at Emily Gilmore's dinner table, it meant not giving her the satisfaction of seeing my react. She wanted me to explode. She wanted me to yell and leave, and to slam the door. She wanted to be able to tell everyone 'I told you so.' And if theres one thing I try to accomplish in life, its to surpirse people and show them that I'm not the scum they think I am. When everyone at the school expected me to to get hooked on drugs, I quit and didn't let anyone see me in withdrawl. When everyone expected me to never go back to school and live as a bum for the rest of my life, I proved them wrong.

Now it was time to prove Emily Gilmore wrong.

I raise my eyes and meet stare at her, my face passive, my tone neutral, and reply. "Every time." I say matter-of-factly. I continue to meet her gaze in another crazed sort of staring contest. I shake my head ever so slightly in each direction and she blinks and snaps her head away from me.

'I suppose you should be getting home, its a long drive." she says to Lorelai.

I allow myself a small grin of victory.

After the third round, the final standing looked like this- Emily: 2. Jess: 10000000. After an unpredictable starring contest victory, Jess Mariano had taken the lead and the competitionl. Beat that.

Now we are sitting in the car on the way home. No one is saying anything. Luke keeps glancing sideways at me, but I'm avoiding his gaze and directing mine at the dark highway out of the passenger side window. At the corner of my eye, I see him turn on the radio. After several minutes of flipping through stations, all either playing obnoxious rap or boring commercials, he turns it off again and returns to glancing at me.

"Emily Gilmore is a..." Luke struggles to find the right word. "Judgmental person."

"Just say it Luke." I say tiredly. "She's a bitch."

"What d- Don't-" Luke stammers and turns his head in all directions, as if he expects Emily to materialize into the truck at any moment.

"Oh come on." I sigh in disbelief. "She's a bitch. You know it."

'Yes, she's bitch." Luke says quietly, shaking slightly afterwards as if he's done something naughty. "But it takes a lot to change her opinion of someone. She saw you as a rebel without a cause, and she wanted you to prove her right."

"But I didn't!" I say, some of the outrage I've been feeling over the night escaping. "I didn't talk sarcastically to her. I didn't retort to any of the wonderful comments she made about my life. I sat there and let this woman frickking critizise me." I run a hand through my hair and sigh again. "If anyone else every spoke to me like that, I pop them in the eye."

"I agree with you one hundred percent Jess." Luke says at once, knowning that he'll have to cool me off soon or things will get really bad. "The way she was talking to you-"

"Like a retarded chimpanzee." I mutter darkly.

Luke shakes his head and goes on. "They way she was talking to you was not right- she shouldn't have done it."

"And you did a great job stepping in." I spit suddendly, wondering why Luke hadn't come to my defense. "I guess I really must be as pathetic as she made me sound."

"Don't even go there." Luke says at once. "Don't even start believing what she said."

We sit in silence for a few uncomfortable seconds.

"If she was talking to you like that, I would've stepped in." I break the silence softly.

"Jess.." Luke tears his eyes away from the road and gives me a long look. "You know those people don't like me. And the wedding is in a week- I just didn;t want to give them another reason to hate me. It was the first Firiday Night Dinner in a long time that the attention hasn't been on me."

If he intending for his words to comfort me, he was wrong. They only make me even angrier.

"So know I see it." I hiss at him. "You brought me there as a distraction. Let the Gilmore's walk all over me so that they woudn't have time to pass judgment on the wedding.It was a good idea. Did Lorelai suggest it? " the words come out venomously, and my desperate need for sleep and the anger I've been shielding for the past two and half hours don't mix well together.

"It wasn't like that-" Luke is searching for words.

"Yeah right." I snap. "Pull over."

"Jess what- were three miles from the dinner-"

"I'd rather walk home. In fact, why don't I just go back to Philly? I've already served your purpose- You don't need me around here."

'Jess-"

"Pull over!"

Ten seconds later, I was walking down the street by my self. I forcefully tore the tie off my neck and continued my journey. I had been set up. Lorelai, Luke, and even Rory had sat by and watched me get verbally abused by the bitch and hadn't done anything! Rory must have been pretending to be nice to me- she was in on the plan too!

I knew I was over reacting big time. I shouldn't have stormed out on Luke and I shoudn't be blaming Rory. But it felt so much better to be thinking about how screwed over I was than how patethic I was. The urge to buy a cigarette came over me again and I remembered the Mini-Market down the street. I reached into my pants for my wallet but realized all to late that I must have left it in Luke's car.

When I get back to the dinner almost an hour later, I contemplate just getting in the car and driving straight back to Philly. Its only when I remember that Marley is still upstairs, along with my manuscript and several precious CDs, that I grit my teeth and enter the diner. Luke is nowhere to be found- he must be at Lorelai's. He mustn't be bothered at all by my actions. Thats just great.

I take the stairs two at a time and look forward to crashing onto my bed when for the second time today, I find Rory Gilmore in my room.

This night might just take a turn for the interesting.

**Dun dun dun. I was gunna write more but decided to end it here. The next chapter will hold some good ol' Rory/Jess goodness. (YAY!). **

**Jess might have come off as a little paranoid, but he always seems to me that he acts before he thinks (which always gets him into trouble.)**

**Please review- I'd love more feedback and ideas- if anyone's got any!**


	4. Ladders

**So, its 10:47 last night and I am watching game 5 of the World Series. I'm from Pennsylvania, so naturally the Phillies rock around my town. I'm all exctied about watching the amazing Cole Hamels bring us the win when they declare the game suspended. I was not happy. What could I do? How could I entertain myself? I was much to hyper to sleep.**

**So I decided to (finally) wrap up this writer's block ridden chapter four. I hope you can enjoy it.**

**Disclaimer: I dont not own Gilmore Girls.**

Chapter Four: Ladders

"Hey." Rory's voice is soft, sweet. I feel like she can read my mind, and knows how paranoid and sensitive I am feeling. The instinct to bottle my emotions and show no glimpse of my true feelings emerges, but I'm too tired to really care if shes sees me for what I am at the moment.

Which is a pathetic loser.

She waits, clearly intent on me making some sort of response. I don't. She clears her throat.

"Look, uh.. about what my grandmother said-" she begins tensely, but I cut her off.

"You don't need to say anything." I say at once. The last thing I want is Rory's pity. Already, my plans of trying to win her back seem petty, even childish. Marley comes over from the corner and nudges my hand with her hand. I absently stroke one of her silky ears.

Rory lets out a sigh. "I just don't want you to believe a word she said- not for one second." She gives me a look that's so intense and once again we are stuck in some weird sort of staring contest, where neither of us can possibly stand to break the connection. She takes a step closer to me and all the events of the dinner seemed to have never happened. The moment we shared at the bookstore seems so fresh in my mind that it could have happened ten seconds ago. I am eager to repeat the process, except hopefully do it successfully.

"You know, instead of talking about what happened, I have a better idea of what we could do." I say nervously.

"Oh yeah?" a sly smiles tugs at her lips. "What's that?"

I grin at her and lean over to the conveniently located fridge and pull out a handful of beers. "We get totally smashed."

Rory sets down her purse on the table. "I'm game." she says.

I hand her a bottle.

XXXxX

* * *

Luke Danes was thoroughly pissed.

His paranoid, son of a bitch nephew had just ran out on him, after screaming some weird, conspiracy theory that explained the lackluster events of the evening. Deep down, Luke knew that Jess was only reacting so dramatically because Emily Gilmore's words had offended him and he had spent the whole night trying to put on a happy face and bite his tongue.

Jess was never any good at biting his tongue. Sure, he could keep a lot of his true feelings and secrets hidden, but if he had a problem with you, he blurt it out. Jess possessed that unusual sort of blunt, flat out honesty that perturbed many a person. He didn't see any reason to try and tone down what he was saying, as to not offend who he was speaking to. If Jess had an issue with you, you would hear about it, pronto.

And Jess was the kind of person who had issues with just about everyone.

Not feeling up to driving home just yet, Luke goes aimlessly around random streets, thinking. As he makes the turn past the diner and slows his truck to a near stop, he notices the lights in the upstairs apartment are on. Jess had beaten him back; he must have been driving around longer than he thought. Too tired for another sure-to-come argument with his nephew, Luke turns the engine back on and drives to Lorelai's.

Jess could have the apartment to himself for the night.

XXXXX

* * *

When he wakes, much, much later, there are only two things that Jess is sure of. One, that going nearly two nights without sleep and then getting smashed do not mix well. And two: he is very, very hungover.

All else of last night after his return from the Gilmore's is a blur. He can faintly recall cracking open a beer. Then another. And another. A glance around the apartment causes him to frown. At least a dozen empty beer cans litter the floor, counter, and tables. Even in his most reclusive states, Jess could not stomach twelve beers. Luke's bed is still made, showing that his uncle did not make an appearance. Remembering their fight last night, Jess doubts that Luke would be likely to get drunk with him last night.

The ringing of his cell phone, antagonizing loud, disrupts his thoughts. Disoriented, he reaches over to the night stand for his phone. When he picks it up, he discovers that it is dead. Another frown forms across his face. The ringing of a phone, clearly not his, continues to ring. Concluding that the phone may belong to the mystery drinking partner from last night, he leaps ungracefully from the bed and finds the phone between the couch cushions.

It is still ringing, and he cradles it in his hand for a moment before answering. The caller ID on the front screen reads 'Mom.' Seeing as most everyone on the planet has a contact on their phone labeled 'Mom', the caller's name would be no clue to his late night companion's identity. Deciding that the only way to find out whose phone it is will be to answer and talk to 'Mom', Jess hits the green answer key.

The voice on the phone is shockingly familiar.

"Rory, where are you, you didn't come home last night-"

The rest of Lorelai Gilmore's sentence is cut off as the phone drops from Jess's hands like a bomb.

Rory Gilmore had gotten drunk with him last night.

Rory Gilmore had gotten drunk with him last night and according to her mother, not come home.

Rory Gilmore had gotten drunk with him last night, not gone home, and Jess had no idea what had happened in between.

Rory Gilmore had gotten drunk with him last night, not gone home, and Jess had no idea what had happened in between. Judging by the location of her cell phone, they had also been on the couch together.

He feebley glanced around the apartment, trying to see what from the scene he could use to make a predicition of what had happened. He was fully clothed in his suit from the previous night, which could be taken as a good sign. Hopefully he and Rory had not done anything he would regret. Marley was just staring at him with a knowing smirk. Whatever had happened between him and Rory last night was locked in the dog's mind. Wishing he had the ability to convey thoughts with the animal, Jess sighed and continued to observe his surroundings.

Luke's voice, coming unsuspectingly from the hall, made Jess jump out of skin.

"I could use your help down here!"

Half a groan, half a moan escaped his lips. He would go do the morning shift for Luke. And hopefully he could avoid Rory until he figure out what had happened last night.

XXXXX

* * *

Rory Gilmore was always known for her good deducting skills and choice making capabilities. She never did anything spur of the moment or reckless. She always thought things through.

So when she found herself at 4:17am, in Jess's apartments, completely drunk, she knew there had been a serious flaw in her usual behavior. At a loss for what to do, she glanced towards the bed at the end of the apartment, where Jess was sleeping. He had been going to the bathroom to get detergent to clean up the mess on the floor, but had apparently collapsed into sleep on the way there.

Panicking, and realizing that her mother had no idea where she was and would want an explanation as to where she had spent the night, Rory knew the one place where she could be assured entrance.

Lane did not appreciate being woken in the very early hours of a Saturday morning. Zach liked it less. He coldly persisted to refer to her as 'Your Friend' to Lane and would not speak directly to her. Even more unhappy were the babies, who at once woke up. Zach gave a Lane an exasperated look before trekking off to the twins' room.

"So..." Lane said quietly after he had retreated. "Do you want to talk about it?"

Rory let out a small, semi-drunken laugh. "Right now, I just want to sleep."

Lucky for her, Lane granted her that wish.

When she woke again, it was late into the morning. Trying to shake away a killer of a hungover, Rory slipped out of bed and into the kitchen, where the faint voices of Lane, Zach, and the twins could be heard. She entered the room on shaky feet and ran a hand through her disheveled hair. Zach looked up at the sound of her entrance and she saw his eyes narrow. Remembering that Zach usually held his grudges for at least 24 hours, Rory decided to ignore him and made her way unsteadily towards the table.

"There you are." Lane said with a smile, getting up from her chair and returning moments later, a coffee cup in her hand.

"Bless you." Rory said fondly, taking a deep sip and allowing the caffine to engulf her. At the table, Zach coughed deliberately.

"Yes, because God's blessing will be a perfect reward for waking a sound asleep family at the middle of the night, and then sleeping in until 11AM the next morning." Zach said cooly. "We should make her pay for that coffee."

"What did you just say?" Rory gasped suddenly.

'He was kinding about the coffee." Lane said at once, swatting Zach in the head. "Be nice."

"I'm sorry Lane, but I just don't function on zero hours of sleep! I just don't!" Zach protested.

"Not about the coffee!" Rory exclaimed, bringing the attention back to herself. "Is it really 11 o'clock?"

Lane looked at her in confusion and then glanced at her watch. "Yeah Rory, actually, its eleven seventeen."

"Eleven seventeen?" Rory repeated, thunderstruck. "I was supposed to meet my mother at Luke's at 11!" She ran back into the living room and slipped on her shoes. Grabbing her purse, she made a mad run for the front door. "Thanks for the coffee!" she yelled back over her shoulder.

Lane stared at Zach intently before picking up Rory's barely touched coffee.

"What?" Zach gaped in response to her staring. "I didn't scare her away. I'm telling, your friend has mad issues."

"I beginning to take you up on that one." Lane muttered under her breath.

XXXXX

The breakfast shift seemed to never ending this morning. Unfortunately for Jess, it was a Saturday morning, which was one of the busiest days at the diner. Slowly but surely, hour after hour, plate by plate, the minute hand on the clock was getting closer and closer to eleven thrity, when his shift would officially end and he could go upstairs and take care of his monster a hang over in the best way he knew how: sleep.

At percisely seven minutes past eleven, Lorelai herself made an appearence. Not wanting to have to answer any akward questions about the previous night, Jess kept himself occupied in the kitchen and did not say hello.

About ten minutes after Lorelai had entered, the diner bell jingled and there was the sound of hurried footsteps making there way to the counter.

"Rory there you are!"

Oh crap.

But Rory did not know where he was. He would be able to successfully hide from her and then sneak upstairs when the moment presented itself.

"Don't you ever hang up on me again." Lorelai's voice sounded, in mock hurt.

"Hang up on you? When did I hang up on you?"

Rory's question reached Jess, who suddently began to panic again.

'I called your cell about fifty times this morning. Then you finally answered and then hung up." Lorelai explained.

'I don't remember that." Rory objected.

Jess was now thinking that the opprotune moment to sneak away was not going to come fast enough. Slowly, he began to creep over to the back exit of the diner.

"Where were you last night anyway?" Lorelai asked.

Jess quickened his pace and reached the door knob. Turning it, he discovered it locked. _Damn._ Where did Luke keep the extra key? A sudden vision of a key under the ancient pan on the top shelf reached his vision and he scampered over to the ladder and then hoisted his arms up to the shelf, feeling blindely for the key.

'I was at Lane's.' Rory said slowly.

Jess felt the grooves of the key just out of reach of his hands, and he strained to grasp it. All he needed to do was get a little bit closer... then he could reach freedom from this uneasy situation.

'Well I wonder who has your phone?" Lorelai pondered. "Here, I'll call it."

Just as Jess's fingers laced triumphantly around the key, he remebered all too late that Rory's phone was stuffed in his pocket. the vibration caught him off guard and he quickly lost his balance and fell from the ladder.

XXXX

"Where were you last night anyway?" Lorelai asks.

Rory fidgets uncomfortabley in her seat and does not meet her mother's eyes. "I stayed over Lane's." she said, non completely lying. She wonders where Jess is. Shouldn't he be working the morning shift? Or is he still passed out upstairs?

"I wonder who has your phone?" her mother questions, distracting her from her thoughts. "I'll call it." she offers, pulling out her own cellular device.

Rory smiles kindly at her and tries to look interested, when suddenly, several things haven at once.

There is a loud crash from the kitchen. Jess is heard swearing at the top of his lungs. And in the background, Rory hears the dull ringing of her cell phone.

"You can come out now Jess." her mother calls.

Feeling herself turn bright red, Rory stares at her feet and hears quiet, slow footfalls approaching from the kitchen. She looks up and sees that Jess is standing before her, looking extremely tired and uncomfortable, with her cell phone in hand.

"You uh... left this in the diner yesterday. I forgot to give it back to you at dinner." Jess rambles off, seeing Rory's eyes at her cell phone.

"Oh, thanks!" Rory responds, playing along, and glancing at her mother out of the side of her eyes. Lorelai has a confused look on her face as she glanced between Rory and Jess. Shaking her head, Rory accepts the phone from Jess and slips it into her purse, tucking a stray bit of hair behind her ears.

"So uhh.. what was that crash?" Rory says conversationally, trying to break the extremely uneasy silence.

"Oh, that..." Jess now looks at his shoes. 'I uhh... fell off a ladder."

"You fell off a-"

"its a long story." Jess interupts, clearly not wanting to talk about it.

"Right." Lorelai says, getting up from her chair. "Well, I'll leave you two to talk, I'm just gonna go, over there for a minute. Huh." Her mother flashes the pair of them a smile before slinking over to the corner of the diner.

"So.." Jess says uncomfortabely. "What the heck happened last night?"

Rory tilts her head to the side. 'You don't remember?"

"Should I?" Jess whimpers nervously.

"Sit." Rory gestures towards the seat next to her. "I don't know about you, but I could use some pancakes."

"Yes!" Jess agrees at once. "I'll go order them."

He returns seconds later and sits beside her, handing a coffee cup to her. Gratefully slurping it in silence, she leaves Jess alone to his thoughts for a few minutes.

'So about last night..." she begins after drainging her cup. Jess turns to her at once and gives her his undivided attention. "Its kind of a long story..."

**And yet another cliff hanger.**

**You'd all better hope the Phillies win the Series, because then I will certainly be motivated to write.**

**Then again, if the Phillies lose the series, my anger will probably cause we to write.**

**I write better when I'm not angry.**

**Go Phillies.**

**-misty**


	5. Why is it Always Midnight?

**Okay, so the Philles won. I am extatic. So I gave myself a good month or so to celebrate. Now I am back! I was having a bit of writers block, but then the episode with the bookstore came on ABCFamily and my Jess-senses started tingling and I decided to write this. So i hope you like it- things are starting to come together and the wedding is coming very very quickly. I still havent decided how its going to end- though I have several ideas.**

**Disclaimer: I do not own Gilmore Girls.**

Chapter Five: Why is it Always Midnight?

"So... that's it?" Jess asked after a few moments of silence. His pounding headache was clogging his thoughts, leaving him feeling disoriented and confused. Unable to look Rory in the eyes, he picks up a fork and stuffs a last piece of pancake into his mouth. His throat is so dry that he almost chokes and finds himself coughing moments later. He sips from his water and looks up at Rory, his eyes watering.

"Thats it." she says simply, laughing at him as he nearly chokes. "We just stayed up all night and talked about when we were seventeen." She cocked her head to the side. "And you talked about Logan- I think you called him a dick. I then I talked about you leaving when I was eighteen- I think I called _you_a dick. After that you spilled beer all over Luke's carpet and on your way to get detergent, you fell asleep." she finished the summary and smiled at him. "And I'm pretty sure there was some drinking involved in the middle."

Jess grins and rubs his head. "Maybe just a little." he agrees. They both laugh and return to their plates. Jess steals one of Rory's hash browns and she flashes him an evil stare. "Haven't you ever heard to never steal hash browns from a Gilmore?"

He just raises his eyebrows at her and plops the hashbrown in his both, closing his eyes and exaggerating how delicious it is. "Thats good." he says, smirking at her.

She raises her knife threateningly. "Stay away from my hash browns." she advises coolly, still pointing the knife at him.

"You are way too protective over your food." he scoffs at her. Rory is about to reply when Luke turns on the blender in the kitchen, clearing preparing to cook lunch. At once, he and Rory both clasp their hands of their ears and yell for him to shut it off. When he complies, they just look at each other, panting, and burst out laughing.

"Hangover suck." Rory groans after they stop laughing.

Jess smiles and raises his water glass. "Hear hear!" he agrees, and she clinks her coffee mug against his glass.

"Thats another thing we did last night." Rory recalls as they set their drinks back down. "Toast." she says to the incredulous look on Jess's face.

"What did we toast?" he questions with a smile. He was very thankful to learn that they had not done anything harmful last night, and in fact they were quite innocent. Well- as innocent as you can be while getting smashed.

'What _didn't_we toast is a better question." Rory replies matter-of-factly. "We toasted beer, and dysfunctional families, and beer, and books, and Bush, and dogs, and really bad movies, and beer, and-"

"Just about everything." Jess supplies. He lets out a shaky breath. "I have to admit, that is not how I thought we spent the evening. I woke up by myself in an apartment full of beer cans wondering what the hell happened." He shakes his head. "And then your mother called, and being completely idiotic answered."

"And then hung up." Rory finished, remembering what her mother had said earlier. She sighed contentedly. "Just curious," she said slowly, "But, what did you _think_ happened?" When Rory had informed him that all they had done last night was talk, he had looked extremely relieved. She wondered what his own formations of the night had been.

Jess cleared his throat uncomfortably. "You know what I think happened." he murmured softly, not meeting her eyes but instead staring at his empty plate. He felt hot with shame. Did he actually think that Rory would ever... That just because they were drunk that they would.... He closed his eyes and rubbed his temples tiredly.

"Oh.. that." Rory should have suspected this. He had woken up with no memory of the previous night expect for the fact that she had gotten drunk with him. Judging by had almost happened at the bookstore, and by the way he kept looking at her, she had a feeling that he was secretly hoping that they had slept together. However, last night, Jess hadn't shown even the slightest inkling of taking advantage of her. It wouldn't have been hard. They were both so drunk, Jess could have suggested jumping off the bridge and she would have said yes. "Well, did you you want it to happen?" she asked him seriously, not liking the way this conversation was now going.

Jess's shoulders shifted nervously and he cleared his throat again, still not looking at her. "You know I.... I've always...." he was stuttering, unable to string together a sentence. Once again, his head was screaming for him to cut and run, get as far away from Rory as he could at the present moment to avoid saying something he would regret. But he did not think that his trembling legs would even be able to support him if he stood.

"Jess." Rory called him out of his thoughts. "Look at me."

Taking a deep, shaking breath, Jess dragged his eyes up to meet hers, and once they met, they were unable to look away. Somewhere, he found the strength to speak again and was able to find a way to answer her previous question.

'If it ever was going to happen," he began slowly, cautiously, aware of every word he was saying and of the consequences of them. "It wasn't going to happen like that.. with the both of us so drunk we could hardly tell what we were doing."

Rory nodded at him. "So.. you're saying that you.. that you are still... _interested_ in me?" she asked him quietly, so quietly that he could barely hear her.

Jess's heart pounded unnaturally loud. This was it, why he came to Stars Hollow in the first place. This was why he had surrendered himself to prejudiced townspeople and unforgiving grandparents. She was asking him, and all he had to do was answer, if he could somehow turn his brain back on and find a way to answer.

"Rory! We're meeting Sookie at the mall in twenty minutes- we have to go."

It was Lorelai, standing impatiently in front of the door. "Come on." she said as Rory turned back to her.

"Mom- I-" Rory tried to protest, but her mother kept gesturing to her and she achingly stood up. "Jess, about that question-"

_"Rory we're going to be late!"_

She gave him a last, fleeting look and turned away. In that moment, Jess snapped back to reality. No! He could not let her get away, not again! Without any conscience knowledge of what he was doing, he rose from his chair and grabbed her arm, preventing her from leaving. She spun around, flustered.

"Meet me tonight." he said quickly urgently. "Midnight- at the bridge."

"Rory! Now!" Lorelai was sounding slightly irritated now.

"Rory." Jess said softly. Their eyes met once more and she saw the pleading look on his face. She had to say yes, she had to. Surely she had felt it too? Surely she would listen to him, hear him out.

"I'll be there." she whispered. Then she gave him a last smile before scampering out the door beside her mother.

It was a promise, it was a statement, it was a fact.

And it meant hope for Jess.

"""""

Rory was gone. She had left about half and hour ago, and now his shift was officially over. He cleared away the remains of their meal and carries the dirty plates and glasses to the back. The ladder that he had tripped over still lay where it had fallen. Jess glared at it, for he knew that tomorrow he would have some pretty hardcore bruises from his fall. Damn his lack of balance. He righted the ladder and continued his journey to the dishwasher, where he ran into none other than Luke.

"Luke.' he said in surprise, nearly running into his Uncle. Luke was rinsing out the pitcher of the blender and nearly dropped it, clearly not expected to have seen Jess. His Uncle looked like he was about to open his mouth, but Jess cut him off. "I'm sorry." he said at once. "What I said last night was.. stupid. I didn't mean it."

If Luke was surprised to see his nephew, it was nothing comparing to the shock he experienced as said nephew apologized to him. He had expected Jess to give him the cold shoulder, and then perhaps to ditch the wedding and return to Philadelphia.

"Oh-Okay." Luke stammered. They stood their in an awkward silence for a few moments. They had never been good at communicating with one another. "let me, uh, take those from you." he said after a while, setting down the pitcher and taking the dirty dishes from Jess.

"Thanks. I'm gonna... go upstairs now." Jess said uncomfortably, and when his Uncle nodded he exited the back room in silence.

When Jess arrived in the apartment, he wondered what to do. It was noon now, and he was free for the rest of the day. He glanced at Marley, who had followed him up the stairs. Perhaps he could take her for a walk. No, that wasn't right.

There was something that he wanted to do, something that he could not put his fingers on. He paced around for several minutes, trying to decipher what it was he could do to accupy himself for the remained of the day.

Then the answer came to him so obviously that he wondered how he had not thought of it at once. It was something that he had often wanted to do, but had been unable to do properly in months.

Jess wanted to write.

He reached frantically for his manuscript and a pen and the words swiftly began to pore from his mind, with more ease that he could remember having written in months. Most of his chapters were usually filled with crossed at words and revised sentences, but he was so sure of what he was writing that he just kept it all. Unlike most people, Jess still wrote his manuscripts on a paper and pen, like in the good old days. After all, typing wasn't the same as writing, and he was always good at expressing himself in pen.

After two hours of non-stop writing, he stopped to review what he had written. He was prepared to toss it all, like had done for the past several months. But to his greatest surprise, what he had just written was not only worth keeping, it was also one of the best chapters he had wrote in months. Wanting to take advantage of this sudden sprut of inspiration, Jess continued to write more and more pages.

He did stop after he had completed a second chapter, and neither did he stop after the third. Hour after hour page after page, he ceased his writing only once because his pen had ran out of ink and he needed to fetch a new one. When at last he came out of his writing daze, it was nearly six o'clock, and he had written over five chapters. Nearly 1/3 of his story had been written in this sitting. The only thing left was an ending.

Very pleased with what he had accomplished, he closed the manuscript and complied all of his papers. His hand was throbbing from the writing, but it was an ache that Jess welcomed like an old friend. His hangover was nearly gone and he was now in a much better mode than he had been in yesterday. Realizing that in his writing frency he had forgotten all about Marley, his searched the room for her and found that she was gone. Feeling guilty, he hurried down the stairs in search of her.

"Luke have you seen-"

He was cut off as he took in what he was seeing, having to blink a few times and be sure that he was not dreaming.

Babette was seated in a chair, and at her lap was his dog, being petted and caressed with a satisfied expression on her face.

"Marley." he finished his sentence, hardly believing what was going on. He had been sure that Babette, and the town, would associate Marely to him and in such ignore her.

"Oh Jess, your dog is such a sweetie.' Babette gushed. "Aren't you?' she cooed, and Marley closed her eyes and leaned her head back as Babette continued to pet her. He blinked at her in confusion and tried to think of something.

"She needs a walk, so I was gonna-'

Once again he was cut off. "Oh oh! I'll take her out!" Babette said immediately. "I'd love to take her for a spin." she looked at hm with excitement. He did not want her to have another reason to hate him, and he personally favored the Babette that was obsessed with his dog over the Babette that wanting to kill Jess "The Heart Crusher" Mariano.

"Uh.. sure. Have a good time?" Jess was not really sure what to say to someone when they offered to walk your dog for you with no pretense of a question.

"Oh we will, won't we darling." Babette smiled Marley, who wagged her tail and followed her eagerly out of the diner. Jess watched them go, shocked and slightly disturbed when he recognized that seeing his dog leaving with someone else gave him a betrayed and lonely feeling... He really needed to get a girlfriend.

With this thought, he reminded himself that he still had five hours until he was set to meet Rory. He was not altogether sure why he had said midnight, of all times. They probably could have met when it was still light out. Personally, he thought that whenever people in books and movies set to meet at midnight it was all most certified that something was going to go wrong. Midnight was a little dramatic.

"I'd be careful if I was you."

Jess looked up, startled and saw that it was look. Did Luke know something about midnight? Was he in on some sort of diabolical plot? "What do you mean?" he said carefully, trying not to let his voice betray his thoughts.

Luke gestured towards the door. "Babette, she may try to steal that dog of yours."

Luke was talking about Marley. He did not have any idea about what may or may not being going on at midnight.

"Huh." Jess replied, going back to his one word answer.

_You're starting to get paranoid Jess._

Shut up!

Now he was talking to himself. He was a paranoid, dog obsessed schizophrenic.

_A paranoid, dog obsessed schizophrenic who really needs a girlfriend!_

Shut up!

He closed his eyes eyes and slid his hand across his temples, trying to relax. Regardless of how paranoid or dog obsessed he was, the chances of anything happening between him and Rory tonight at midnight seemed- unpredictable. At first, they seemed impossible. But now, after the conversation they had over breakfast, Jess was beginning to wonder if maybe his helpless plight was not quite so helpless.

But then he remembered exactly what Rory had asked him. She had wanted to know if he wanted something to happen between the two of them. The obvious answer was 'yes.' But how did she fit into the situation? When he told her, yet again, that he wanted to be with her, how did he know that she wanted to be with him? They had been close, so close to getting back together on so many occasions. Was she going to just shoot him down again? Would he find himself on the highway, speeding back to Philadelphia before the night was over?

He still had over four and a half hours until midnight. For a minute, he considered calling her and asking to meet now. Then, however, he would risk the chance that she was still with her mother. Rory may have thought that Lorelai believed her half-truth about going to Lane's, but Jess had seen Lorelai adding two and two together and was pretty sure that she was going to question Rory about at the first opportunity.

He opened his eyes and glanced back outside, noticing that Babette was heading back towards the diner, Marley at her side.

_Well, thats one thing you can be sure of._ Jess mused to himself. _No matter how things turn out at midnight, you'll still have a dog._

Jess's eyes darkened as he noticed Babette bend down to plant a tender kiss between Marley's scruffy ears.

Luke noticed his gaze and smirked. "Maybe you're more of a cat person. Have you ever considered a cat?"

For a minute, Jess had a terrifying imagine of a middle aged, over-weight version of himself surrounded by dozens of cats and reading _Oliver Twist_out loud. _If that ever happens to me,_ he vowed to himself, _I will personally ensure that I am killed in the most brutal way possible. _He let out a sigh and took a quick look at his watch. It was not even six thirty yet. If he didn't find some way to occupy himself, he would probably go mad. For a moment, he contemplated going upstairs and writing more, but his throbbing fingers and exhausted mind countered this idea. Perhaps he could just help Luke out wit the dinner crowd- that would take his mind off things.

"I'm allergic to cats." he muttered darkly to his uncle, who shook his head and laughed crudely at him.

Heaving an impatient sigh, Jess trudged behind the counter for an order pad, hoping that the long hours between the present and midnight would pass swiftly.

**Happy Thanksgiving to all of those in the US of A. And to all those who arent, have a very charming week. **

**I am very thanful for reviews (hint hint)**

**-Misty**


	6. Marley and Me

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Happy Holidays to everyone!!!! It just so happens that I am currently suffering from a cold, so I'm confined to the house with nothing on TV. Bad news for me, but good for you, because now I'll finally write something.

**So here's chapter six! I'm warning you in advance- things don't go completely according to plan for poor Jess. If you can, go to youtube or and listen to 'Here We Stand' by Amber Pacific. Its a great song!**

**Disclaimer: Me no own Gilmore Girls!**

Chapter Six: Marley and Me

Rory's POV

Midnight. What an ironic choice of time for Jess. Its seems way to Cinderella for him- I wonder what made him choose it. I wonder even more what is going to happen at midnight. That look in his eyes today over break fest, and then that completely ineffable expression as I asked him if he was still interested in me- a small smile formed on my lips as I thought of it. I ran my fingers absentmindedly over the denim fabric of the jeans on the 40 percent off rack.

"Rory? Answer Please?"

I turned around at once, snapping out of my reverie. My mother was looking at me expectantly. With a sinking feeling of realization, I discover that my mother must have asked me a question, and I had been too preoccupied thinking about Jess to even hear it, let alone answer.

"Umm, sorry what?" I asked timidly, running a hand through my loose hair and tucking a stubborn strand behind my ears. To think of a way to occupy my mind, I reach for a pair of jeans from the discount rack and examine them. They were nice, a little to ripped for my liking, but nice. Maybe I would try them on... A quick peak at the price tag. $39.5o. What was 40 percent off of 40? I went through numbers and proportions in my head, frowning.

"Rory, RORY!"

Damn. I was too concentrated on the cute jeans this time.

"Okay, I was going to let this go, but you seem incapable of focusing on anything else!" my mother exclaims in exasperation.

"Let what go- ow!" I cry as my mother grabs forcefully onto my arm and drags me away from the clearance rack, the store, and the cute jeans. "Where I we going? There was a really nice pair of jean in there that I wanted to try!"

My mother continues to drag me away and doesn't stop until we reach one of the many benches in the middle of the mall. The only occupant is a middle aged man who is staring off into spade. I give him a wide berth and sit down next to my mother, wondering what all of this is about. She was the one who had insisted on going on this stupid shopping trip in the first place. Suddenly I remember Sookie, who went to try on something in the dressing room. She is still in the store with the cute jeans, probably wondering where we disappeared to.

"Tell me what happened last night." Mom folds her arms around herself and looks at me demandingly, as if a refusal to answer will end in death.

My hearts skips a beat. "I told you what happened, Mom.' I insist, not meeting her eyes. "I stayed over Lane's-."

"Uh-huh." My mother scoffs, rolling her eyes. "Why were you and Jess so secretive this morning then? And you're definitely hungover." I hide my face, feeling ashamed. My mother still hated everything about Jess. She would be angry if she found out what happened between, even if it was little and insignificant. "Rory, this isn't you.." Abruptly, she sounds pissed. "Why is it that the second _Jess_ comes to town, you start keeping secrets from me?" She says Jess name like she used to when we were kids and he fractured my wrist.

"Don't say it like, it isn't his fault!" I protest, feeling another headache coming on. My mother is right about one thing though; Jess always does seem to complicate things.

"Then what the hell happened!"

I sigh and look pointedly at my feet. "We... got drunk last night." I murmur quietly, not looking up to see her reaction. I hear her sharp intake of breath and know that she is fearing the worst. "It wasn't like that Mom, nothing happened. "I tuck another piece of hair behind my ears, like I do when I'm uncomfortable. "WE got talking, and then it got late, he fell asleep, and I _did_ go to Lane's."

"Why didn't you tell me if nothing happened then?" Her tone is unreadable, and I'm unsure if she is going to snap at me again.

I groan and lift my head up to look at her. "Because whenever Jess is involved, you get mad. Don't deny it, 'cause its the truth."

"I'm not mad, I'm just confused." My mother argues. "I mean, you two never really did get to talk about what happened between you guys. You've been tip-toeing around each other for years, and I've seen the way you at him."

"So what are you saying?" I ask tiredly.

She sighs and smiles at me, patting my shoulder with hand. "I'm saying that you should talk to him." I nod at her and we sit in silence for a while.

"So." she whispers after a few minutes. "Sookie's probably having a panic attack. Back to the cute jeans?" I grin at her and she takes my hand as we make our way back to the store. I turn around at the last minute to stare once more at the lonely middle aged man, still with a dazed expression on his face.

I'll talk to Jess. Tonight.

At midnight.

(.)(.)(.)

* * *

Jess POV

I'm bumming around the apartment at quarter to ten, bored out of my mind. Marley's already been walked, thanks to Babette, and she's currently haunting the diner downstairs, where Luke is feeding some of the last stray folk of this bizarre town. This has dragged on for far too long and midnight can't come any closer. I debated just leaving for the bridge now and waiting. Then I remembered that it was November and freezing. It was dark, so I couldn't read a book. Rory wouldn't be showing up for another two hours. So I decided to wait it out in the damn apartment.

It seems that this weekend, all channels are broadcasting a bad movie marathon. Now, I'm usually one for a bad movie. But it has to be a decent abd movie. I know that sounds like an oxymoron or something, but its the truth. Some movies are so incredibley bad that you can watch them and make fun of them and have a jolly good time. Example: The entire 'I Know What You Did Last Summer' saga. But some movies were just so dumb that putting them on just gave you a headache. Example: every freakin' movie that was on right now.

I really need to get more sleep. I shouldn't have forgotten those damn sleeping pills. My body is currently operating after a night of hardcore boozing and another night of close to zero hours of sleep. It felt real awkward, like I wasn't really awake, like I was dreaming.

At around ten, I surrender any hopes of finding something half-way decent to watch and trudge downstairs to help Luke close up. He seems thankful for the assistant. To my appreciation, he doesn't pester me with any annoying questions about Rory or bore me with any details about the wedding. Its in four days. Now, I don't much about weddings. The only ones I've been to are my mother's (at least half a dozen) and my buddy Carter's from New York. But one thing I do know is that wedding are, in an unspoken code, always on the weekend. Not Luke and Lorelai though. They can't to anything normal or conventional. Its probably more Lorelai than Luke. So they're getting married on a Thursday afternoon. A totally random Thursday afternoon. I'm also getting a vibe that Lorelai might have done this just to piss off her parents. It seems just like the kind of thing she would do. I could picture Emily Gilmore in her fancy house and her fancy clothes spitting out her fancy wine when she found out that her daughter's fancy wedding was going to be during the week.

Its quarter to eleven when I'm finished and I need to kill the time. I tell Luke that I'm going to wash my car and get gas. He suggest I go to the next town over, seeing as the only so called '24 hour' gas station closed at ten. By the time I finish filling my tank and paying, my wallet is practically empty. Damn gas prices. I've got to finish that manuscript soon or I'll have to trade these wheels in for a bike. Charming.

I get back at eleven thirty. At last, at long last, I can head for the bridge. Luke has already left for Lorelai's, so there's no confused questions to answer as to why I'm going to the bridge at midnight in the middle of autumn. I pull my leather jacket tighter around and whistle for Marley. She can keep me company until Rory shows up. The walk to the bridge is slow, cold, and uncomfortable. When I reach it I sit down and pull out an old paperback, doing my best to read from the moonlight.

I read with only half a mind, my hears straining to pick up any remote sound of footsteps other than Marley's, who is searching the area with an excited look on her face. She doesn't get out much after dark. I continue read, glancing up at the end of each page to see if I can spot an approaching silhouette. There is none. After reading about ten pages I set the book down, feeling too jittery to concentrate on. Silently, I sit for a few minutes and look at my watch. Its officially 12:07. She probably just running late: it must have been difficult to get past Lorelai at one in the morning, especially since she didn't come home last night.

To pass the time, I take out a note pad and a pen that I carry with me everywhere, just in case that whiff of inspirations strikes when I'm unprepared. I do my best to jot down an outline for the ending of my book, a pivotal moment in which the main character confesses the truth about his self-mutilating behavior and the causes of it. Its a pretty dark topic, but I tend to write about things I know. I knew this kid back in New York who had a lot of problems with cutting. I'm not sure if I've got the scene just right and read back over it, crossing words out here and there and adding a few sentences as needed.

12:26 AM.

I'm sure she'll be here soon. Lorelai and her most likely had a late movie night or something. Luke says that do that a lot these days, trying to hang out as much as possible before the wedding. I wonder if Rory will still stay there after they get hitched; wouldn't it be awkward to live with a couple of newlyweds? I remember the many times my mother had a newly wedded husband... I would not wish the impending motnhs of embarresment and interuptions on anyone.

I'm scribbing furisouly on the pad now, completely engrossed in my work. Could this really be the day that I finished my manuscript? Matthew and the boys would be so pleased. Maybe I wouldn't have to buyt that bike after all. I hope I can get Rory to read it before I publish it; I really want her input and maybe I get a suggestion or two from her. The moon is slipping around the sky and my eyes are starting to droop. Wouldn't hurt to close them.. just for a minute.....

Marley is barking. My first thoughts were that the dog has to learn to shut up. My next were centered on one feeling; cold. It was absoluetly freezing. I hadn't felt this cold in years, not since I'd tried to sleep in the back of my car in the middle of winter all those ill-fated years ago. Marley is next to me and her ears and flat agaisnt her head, he legs shaking. I run a hand across my forehead and try to get my bearings... I must have fallen asleep, so I check my watch.

3:57AM.

3:57AM.

3-fucking-57 AM!

I rose to my feet, which had fallen asleep and were difficult to stand on. I noticed my notebook on the bridge and kicked in angrily, not noticing that it mercifully missed the water and hit the bank. I did not retrieve it. Whistling for Marley, who followed at once, I maneuvered my quivering limps towards the diner.

Rory had stood me up.

(.)(.)(.)

* * *

Rory's POV. 9:45PM

Our shopping trip ended long ago and now we're home. Mom's got this big plan going down- something about her last Saturday before she gets married. So Sookie and Lane and few others are coming over for some movies and drinks and jolly good times. I was careful to set the alarm on my cell for eleven thirty, so I would have plenty of time to go meet Jess. I still had not quite figured out how I was supposed to get way in time to go see him; This party had been going on since seven and showed no signs of winding down. Regardless, I would find a way. If everyone continued drinking the way the were, I'm sure that no one would notice be disappearing for an hour... or more. And if they did.. they wouldn't remember it tomorrow.

So I enjoyed myself, having a few drinks and watching a few movies. I had plenty of time to hang out with my friends until it was time to go meet Jess. Besides, it wasn't like he was going to be sitting there, right now, waiting for me. He was probably busy doing something at the apartment.

When my phone alarm went off at eleven thirty, I think my heart may have skipped a beat. How had time passed so fast? I glanced around. Everyone was suffieciently drunk. hte time was ripe for me to make my escape. Telling Lane I was going to the bathroom, I disappeared into my bedroom and headed for the window. I know I could have used the back door, but I remembered Jess suggested me bail out of this very windown all those years ago. I felt sort of sad that I never had; a bit like I had missed out on some right of passage that every teenager accomplished when they snuck out of the house.

"Rory, Rory!"

I spun aroun, my heart pounding. It was my mother. She looked thoroughly excited, and thoroughly drunk.

"Rawry..." she giggled at me, and I crossed the room to stand beside her. "You know.. Jess's dog... "

Jess's name made me blush; it was a good thing my mother was drunk, other-wise she would have realized that something was up.

"Marley?' I supplied, wondering where this conversation was going.

"Yes! Exactly!" Mom's eyes light up. She looked like she had just discovered something enlightening. "He _say_s he named it after Bob Marley. But he's a big liar!" She giggled again.

"How so?" I queried, wondering how much longer this conversation was going to last, and trying to furtively peek at the clock on the kitchen wall.

'You know that movie coming out around Christmas? Based on the book? With Owen Wilson?"

"You mean.. Marley and Me.. oh...Mom!" now that I had made the connection, I found what mother thought was so amusing. "Do you really think that Jess ever read Marley and Me and was so inspiried, he named his dog after it?"

Good old Mom just laughed. "Jessssss reads." she pointed on.

"Yes." I agreed. "But does Jess look like the type who reads book about dogs?"

I never did get my answer. Lane came charging in, looking enthralled. She held up a small square that I identified as a CD. Of course; if it was Lane, there was a good chance it had something to do with music.

Turns out it was my mother's favorite Bangle's record. What a suprise. Mom had lost her copy years ago some way or another. Lane ahd seen it at a CD show last week and was looking for the opprotune moment to reveal it. Mom at onced seized the CD with one hand and my arm with the other and darted towards the CD player in the other room. I got a full glimpse of the clock and saw that it was eleven thirty two... There was more than enough time to listen to one song...

_Just one song._ I told myself firmly. And then you have to song turned into three, and then one drink turned into four, and soon I was on the floor giggling with my mother. I had the slightest feeling that I was forgetting something but I just couldn't remember what.

(.)(.)(.)

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**Dun dun dun.. I told you things didnt work out for Jess!!!! Oh well, sucks to be him. This chapter had a lot of Rory in it and not nearly enough Jess, which I don't like. So get ready for a truck-load of Jess next chapter. The episode where Jess makes his first appearence is on ABC Family on Monday. Mark your calendars people!!!**

**About the Marley and Me reference: I saw the movie over break (cried my eyes out, mind you.) and realized that I was not the first person who decided to name a dog after Bob Marley. I honestly had no idea that a dog in a book was named the same, or I would have picked something. When I decided to give Jess a dog, I considered naming it Mickey, or Jasper, or Mitch.. it was going to be Dodger, and then there was gonna be three dogs, Romeo, Juliet, and Dodger and they were gonna be symbolic of Rory and Jess and... you get the picture. But I went with Marley. If it bothers anyone I'll go bac and change the name- I hate thinking that I stole the dog's name from somewhere.**

**Happy New Year! Reveiws are great!**

**-misty**


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